Burnishing-machine



(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 2|, I899.

M. J. UKEEFE.

BURNISHING MACHINE.

[Application filed Oct. 27, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

MICHAEL J. OKEEFE, OF TURNERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

BURNISHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,987, dated February 21, 1899.

Application filed October 27,1898. Serial No. 694,714. (No model.)

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL J. OKEEFE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Turners Falls, in the county of Franklin and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Burnishing- Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for burnishin g articles of metal, and particularly for burnishing objects such as the metallic handles of knives or forks and other similarlyformed metal objects, the object being to provide a machine for said purpose containing means for effecting the burnishing automatically of the sides and rounded edges of said handles, thereby following the contourthereof as though done by hand; and the invention consists in the peculiar construction of the burnishing devices and in means for holding and operating the same and in means for holding and imparting the requisite movements to the articles being burnished and in the general construction of the machine, all as hereinafter fully described, and more par ticulary pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a burnishing-machine constructed according to my invention, on which are shown two knives secured thereon as when operated upon for burnishing the handles thereof. .Fig. 2 is an end and partly-sectional view on line 2 2, Fig. 1, showing one of the clamp-bars which holds the work turned up. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3, Fig. 1, illustrating theconstruction of the burnishing elements and some details of their supporting and actuating devices, sectional views of said knife-handles being shown between said burnishing elements. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of one of the burnishing elements and the parts connected therewith. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the work-holding clamps and of one of the pivoted clamp-bar connections.

Referring to the drawings, A is the base of the machine, consisting of four vertical walls and a top. B is a shaft supported on one end of said base, as shown, forrotation by a belt or other similar means .and having a disk G on its upper end, which serves as a crank for actuating through a pitman O a sliding head D, which moves between the two projecting gibs or guides E E on the top of said base, said pitman being connected to the bar F, projecting downwardly from the under side of said sliding head D, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Said head is therefore given a reciprocating movement between said guides. Said head D forms a moving support for two elastic burnisher-carriers h h, which are blocked in separated positions, as shown, and secured firmly to said head D by a screw 2'. The said burnishin g elements consist of hardened-steel disks, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and there indicated by m, the peripheries of which are curved, as shown, whereby the burnishing movement imparted thereto in the direction of the axes of said burnishing-disks will have the desired burnishing effect upon articles upon which they operate. Said. burnisher carriers are made, preferably, of spring-steel,

'whereby the burnishing-disks m carried thereon are permitted to automatically adjust themselves to the variations of the thickness of the articles upon which they press and'are moved during the burnishing thereof, as below described, and said disks are supported in said carriers by the pins n, on which they are free to rotate, while the said articles being burnished are moved at right angles to the direction of movement of said sliding head D, so that said disks may act upon the curved edges of a knife-handle or other thing, as well as upon flat surfaces thereof, while burnishing the same. Said pins n are preferably tapering, for the reason that they are more easily kept tight in said carriers h, thus more surely holding the burnishers at steady and firm against the article on which they act. Said burnishing-disks m have half-rounded peripheries, and thus they slide freely over the surface to be burnished. Said sliding head D is in practice given such an extent of reciprocatory movement by said disk G and pitman O as the length of the object to be burnished demands, and therefore the connection of said pitman with said disk is made adjustable, as shown, by means of a bolt 0, passing through one of several holes 10 in the outer end of said pitman, as shown, and through one of several holes in said disk at different distances from the center of the latter, or any other well-known means may be employed for varying the said extent of movement. Two blocks H H are fitted to slide between the gibs or guides I on said baseof the machine transversely to the direction of movement of said sliding head D, and to actuate said blocks H for reciprocating movements in opposite directions simultaneously for the purpose below set forth a shaft J, having right and left screw-threaded sections for engagement with said two blocks H H, is hung to rotate without endwise movement in two brackets K K, secured on the opposite sides of said base, and on one end of said shaft J is fixed a ratchet-disk L. Means are provided for intermittently rotatingsaid shaft J, comprising the following devices, viz: A lever M is hung for a vibratory movement on said shaft, on which is pivoted a double pawl N, whereby the direction of rotation of said ratchet-wheel and shaft J may be reversed by the successive action of the teeth of said pawl upon the ratchet, the latter being manipulated by the operator of the machine as may be required and as explained farther on. Vibratory motion is imparted to said lever M by the connection therewith of a bar R, secured on and moving with said sliding head D by the connecting rod or bar P, the end of the latter engaging said lever M being, as is shown, adjustable for varying the degree of the said vibratory movement of the lever M, and thus varying the degree of the movements of said blocks H. On each of said lastnamed blocks is attached a clamping device W for holding the things to be burnished, which device consists of an upper and lower section hinged together by one edge, as shown, and lined with leather or other soft material. Said clamping devices are locked and held in engagement against an object therebetween by a clamp-lever V and a connection Z, the latter being pivoted under the lower section of the said clamping device \V and adapted to swing upwardly and engage the upper section of said clamping device, said levers V then being brought to the positions shown in Fig. 1, whereby the knives there shown are held while being burnished.

The operation of said machine in burnish- I ing is as follows: The clamping devices W being opened by first raising the levers V to about the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the blades of the knives are laid therein and then clamped by operating said levers to swing them to the positions above named, and thereby bringing the handles of the knives to the positions relative to the burnishing devices shown in Fig. 1. Upon starting the machine the burnishing-disks m will move back and forth 011 the said handles, occupying substantially the positions shown, whereby the opposite sides of the handles are burnished at the same time. While the burnishers are moving longitudinally of the handles, as aforesaid, the latter are, through the described movements of the blocks H, to which said blade-clamping devices are attached, moved transversely between said burnishing-disks m, thereby causing the latter to roll on their bearing-pins, while the curved edges of the handles, as well as the fiat sides thereof, are brought against said disks, the latter by reason of the elasticity of the burnisher-carriers h being free to follow the curvatures of the handles, as above set forth. One of said elastic burnisher-carriers h and the burnishers thereon may be used alone to act, first, on one side of articles, and then by turning the article over may act on the opposite side, or the burnisher may be omitted from one end of said carrier without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a burnishing-maohine,two spring burnisher-bars arranged one opposite the other in separated relations and fixed at a point centrally between said extremities to amovable support, a burnishing element attached to each extremity of said bars, a movable support to which said bars are attached, means for reciprocally moving said support, and means for holding articles to be acted upon by said burnishing elements, and moving the same reciprocally, transversely of the line of movements of said support, bars, and burnishing elements, substantially as described.

2. In a burnishing-machine,means for hold ing articles while being burnished comprising an upper and lower section or plate-hinge connected by one edge, a lining of soft material on the inner opposite sides of said plates, a clamping-lever pivotally connected to one of said sections and swinging over the second one, combined with a support for said hinged clamping device, and means for imparting reciprocating movements to said support and to an article held between said plates, sub stantially as described.

3. In a burnishing-machine, the movable support D, means for moving said support reciprocally, the flexible burn isher-carriers h, h, attached to said support, the burnishers m hung on the ends of said carriers and rotatable thereon, means for imparting reciprocating movements to said support D, the sliding blocks H, II, the work-clamping devices \V,

Ito

carried on said sliding blocks, the clampingblocks H, H, the work-clamping devices W, nected to the support D, and the bar P ad- W, carried on said blocks, the clamping-lejustably connected to said lever M, substanvers V, V, pivotally connected to said worktially as described.

clamping devices, the right and left screw- MICHAEL J. OKEEFE. 5 threaded shaft J, engaging said blocks and Witnesses:

having the ratchet-disk L thereon, the lever H. A. OHAPIN,

M, carrying said ratchet-disk, the bar R con- K. I. CLEMONS. 

